The Nanny
by SparrowsFlight
Summary: Gold is desperate for a Nanny for his one year old. Belle answers the call. *Old Prompt verse*
1. Chapter 1

Belle took a deep breath before knocking at the door of the pinkest house she had ever seen.

She had heard all the horror stories from the young girls in town whom had interviewed for the live in Nanny position to the town recluse's only child. Surprisingly the horror stories weren't about father but about the one year old boy. Stories ran amok from screaming fits, to hitting, biting and even a case of projectile vomiting. That was all just from the initial screening processes.

Currently, she could hear a tantrum being thrown as if she was in the same room so she raised her hand and knocked a bit louder. She needed this job. Difficult child or not, Mr. Gold was offering a substantial amount of money, enough to make a sizable dent in her ever growing student loans.

Finally the door was thrown open and appeared as disheveled as she had ever seen him. When she saw him in town he was always very well put together without a single hair out of place. This could not possibly be the same man but she must say, he was still quite handsome, even as distressed as he obviously was.

"Ms. French," he sighed, running a hand through his hair in an effort to straighten it. "You're a bit early I'm afraid. Caught Bae in the process of naptime."

Belle had to refrain from chuckling. "Doesn't sound like much napping is being done," she referred to the screaming toddler that was just barely visible from the pack-n-play in the living room.

"Yes, well. He screams and cries then finally drinks his milk and falls asleep a few hours later. It's a process as I say."

"May I?" she gestured. Gold stepped aside and she entered the house hoping she hadn't bitten off more than she could chew. She didn't have much experience with kids but she remembered her mother soothing her to sleep as a child.

"Hi there Bae, I'm Belle," she said kneeling at eye level with the unhappy boy. "Can I pick you up?"

Bae quieted though his brown eyes still shown with tears. He didn't reach for her but he didn't scream when she slid her hands under his arms and laid him against her shoulder. He willingly tucked his head in against the crook of Belle's neck as she hummed in his ear and very lightly ran her fingers up and down the boy's then began to sway in time with her humming and several moments later tiny snores could be heard.

Gold watched her in amazement.

"Stay forever," he murmured.

Belle smiled and laughed gently at that. "I'll stay with you forever.

She didn't know how true those words would be.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been four weeks since Belle had been hired on the spot, in the middle of Mr. Gold's living room, for the Nanny job and she could safely say that every day had been an adventure.

Baelfire Gold was your typical curious one year old, but Belle couldn't understand why the other girls that had applied for the job had such a rough go with him. All he wanted most of the time was to play and explore, especially since he had recently mastered walking. He was still a bit wobbly at times but when he was doing something he knew he shouldn't be, he could certainly disappear quicker than Belle had ever seen.

It didn't take much to understand why Mr. Gold needed the extra help during the week.

Belle was surprised by how well Bae actually took to her and on that note his father as well. From the first moment that Belle had been able to quiet Bae down for his nap, Mr. Gold had seemed to be in awe over her. He most certainly wasn't as beastly as the entire town made him out to be. Then again, the entire town also didn't get to see the Mr. Gold that came home every evening excited to see his son, and laid down on the floor in his expensive suits to play with him. They only got to see the harsh and guarded pawn broker. Not the man behind the mask.

Belle normally arrived for work around 7:30am . Sometimes Bae was already up, sometimes he would sleep in. Mr. Gold would let her know any information about the day before he went off to work. From the time Bae would wake up they would go into their routine. Breakfast and cartoons for the earlier part of the morning, then Belle would take him to the library to pick out a book, they'd have lunch, she would read to him and he would take a nap.

During the couple hours that Bae would nap Belle would work on homework for her online courses she was taking at Storybrooke Uni and then if the day was nice they would generally spend the rest of it outside in the yard or at the park to burn through all of Bae's pent up energy.

Around quarter to six, Belle would get dinner started and Mr. Gold usually arrived by the time it was finished. It wasn't ever anything fancy. Easy meals like pizza, hamburgers or other quick fixes. She would eat with them and then say their goodbyes until the next morning.

This particular evening however, was Mr. Gold's rent collection day. Why he insisted on personally going to each of his properties to collect his money was beyond Belle's comprehension but she supposed it was part of his intimidation factor.

Since he would be home much later than normal, she and Bae went ahead and ate their dinner, (spaghetti and meatballs that Bae seemed more interested in covering his face in than actually digesting), and she just finished giving Bae a bath.

She wrapped him up in a towel and carried him to his room, making him laugh when she kissed his chubby cheeks all over and laid him on the bed.

"There we are little man! Now lets see about getting you all fixed up for bed!" she said.

On the changing table, Mr. Gold had already laid out that morning, a pair of Mickey Mouse feetie pajamas and some soothing night time baby lotion to apply. She grabbed a diaper and returned to where Bae was now jumping on his bed.

"Okay, now, time to settle down and stop jumping!" Belle said and quickly scooped him up and laid him back down. Bae whined and protested while she managed to get the diaper on his squirming behind but once she pulled out the baby lotion and started to apply it he took great care in watching what she was doing.

"You hate wearing a diaper but you like to have lotion put on, huh?" She laughed and Bae just stared with his big brown eyes.

After Belle rubbed the lotion on him and again fought with him to put clothes on, she heard the front door open and shut and smiled. "Your daddy is home!" she whispered excitedly to Bae and set him down off the bed.

"Dada?" Bae asked and Belle smiled and nodded.

"Bae? Ms. French?" she heard Gold call from the stairs.

Belle popped her head out of Bae's room and took a couple of steps into the hallway. "We're up here, Mr. Gold!"

A moment later Gold began making his way up the stairs and she waited for him.

"Good evening, Mr. Gold. Everything go alright today?"

"About as pleasantly as any other rent day I'd suppose. How was yours?" he asked.

"It was great. He has been in a good mood all day today. We read about 'Rumplestiltskin' again today in that fairy tale book he loves. I don't know why he loves that story so much. We played at the park for awhile, had some spaghetti and I just got him out of the bath and dressed by the time you got here. All in all a successful day, I would say. No fits or tantrums except right before his nap."

"Typical," Gold nodded. "Thank you for all your help this evening, as always Ms. French. Bae has adjusted remarkably well with you around. I'm fortunate you came to help us out."

"Bae is a great kid. He really is. I have to admit I had heard some horror stories…"

"Probably more about the father," Gold joked and Belle laughed.

"Well, most everyone is terrified of you, but I just saw someone who needed help and…"

"Wait," Gold said, silencing her. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

Belle was confused. "No.."

"Did you already put Bae to sleep?"Gold asked.

"No…"

"That's what I was afraid of," he mumbled and stepped around Belle and entered Baelfire's bedroom.

Belle followed quickly behind him and gasped upon entering, her hands flying up to cover her open mouth. This was bad.

Sitting in the middle of the bedroom, covered head to toe in baby lotion, was Baelfire. It was all over his pajamas, his hands, his face, his hair was sticking up in every direction and he had even managed to slap globs of the lotion all over the carpet and the surrounding furniture.

Belle had no idea how Mr. Gold was going to react and she wondered if she was finally going to see the temper than everyone was always talking about.

To Belle's surprise, he laughed. Not just a polite laugh like he would use around her but a real and full laugh and she had to admit it was one of the most beautiful things that she had heard and she found herself laughing right along with him. Bae just looked on in confusion and continued smearing in the lotion on the dresser.

Finally Gold turned to her, red from laughing and a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Before I hired you on he did the same thing to me, only with the diaper rash medicine and I was so angry at myself for not noticing what he was doing. I was sure I was a terrible parent but I'm beginning to realize that Bae is really quite a mischievous boy. You came in here and you made parenting seem so easy, I was actually envious of how well he took to you."

Belle smiled and reached out and grasped his hand, stunning him. "You are an excellent father Mr. Gold."

He stared into Belle's eyes for the longest time and she wondered for a moment what it would be like if she just bridged the little gap between them and kissed his lips. She banished that thought quickly and tried not to think how warm he felt under her palm.

"Thank you Ms. French," he said and took a couple steps towards Bae and breaking their contact. "Better get this one back into the bath."

"There's spaghetti still warm in the microwave for you. I'll see you in the morning, Mr. Gold."

"Good night, Ms. French."

She smiled as he picked up Bae, uncaring of the mess getting onto his own clothes. Gold kissed the top of Bae's head and squeezed him tight.

"You can call me Belle, actually," she offered.

Gold nodded his head and she thought she saw him smirk at her. "Goodnight then, Belle."


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a little prompt that I received and loved from a reviewer named MmChip on the last chapter! Thank you for the prompt and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Belle was at her absolute wits end.

For two months now she had been affectionately dubbed the baby whisperer in the Gold household due to her uncanny ability to be able to calm 1 year old Baelfire down from most any meltdown. It had been a great source of pride to Belle that the boy had taken to her so well but it always made Belle wonder if it weren't out of some natural need for a mother figure or her actual abilities to nurture. Whatever the case be she certainly was not feeling that pride today.

Bae Gold had been crying at the top of his lungs ever since his father had left for work that morning. It wasn't odd for Bae to miss his father after his initial departure but it was always something that he was able to be easily distracted from with the promise of breakfast or a cup of milk and a toy. Today though he was positively despondent.

Belle had run the gamut of distractions. Food, diaper changes, toys, stories. She bounced him, rocked him, swung with him on the patio swing off the back yard. She tried to sing to him and when her own voice failed she pulled up lullabies on her phone. His Curious George monkey that he cuddled with at nap time and bedtime was even cast aside.

It was almost noon when Belle slid to the floor of Bae's nursery in absolute defeat, tears of her own heavy in her eyes. She knew that it wasn't good for Bae to see her own exasperation but she was at her wit's end. She just didn't know what could possibly have gone so terribly wrong on this seemingly ordinary day. She was beginning to see why the likes of Ashley and Aurora had gone running in the opposite direction. This was the tiny terror that she had been warned against.

Bae sat across from her, a hand in his curls, twirling the soft hair around and around in his little hand. He was still whimpering, his tiny voice hoarse from overuse but at least he was no longer screaming with that blood curdling pitch. Lord only knows what the neighbors must think about the situation here if they were home.

"Bae…" Belle whispered to him, desperation lacing her normally calming and cheerful voice. "Bae work with me. I don't know how to help you. I don't want you to be sad. I miss my happy guy!" she spoke, running her thumb under his eyes to wipe away the tears that still fell. Bae miserably let loose another whine and Belle finally felt her own tears fall. "What is your daddy going to say when he comes home today to find us both a crying, snotting mess?"

She wanted to laugh. The thought of Mr. Gold coming home and having to console them both, tears and snot staining the fabric of his $300 suit, face a mixture of confusion and terror. As tempting as it was to think of being held in Gold's arms, snot or no, Belle knew that she couldn't let it get to that point. All of this crying could not be healthy and she'd never forgive herself if there was something genuinely wrong with Bae and she didn't every option available.

With a huff of defeat she pulled out her cell phone and brought Gold up in her address book. He had of course given her his number in case of an emergency and if this didn't qualify as an emergency then she didn't know what would. She selected the dial option and put it on speakerphone, too exhausted to even hold the phone to her ear. Bae whimpered on in the background, hand continually weaving in and out of his curls.

The phone rang once...twice...three times and then…

 _"This is Gold. Leave a message at the tone."_

Belle could have screamed. She hung up before she had the chance to accidentally fill a certain voicemail with every known profanity. However she did take notice to how Bae's little ear had perked up at the sound of his father's voice, the whimpering and tears finally stopping.

"Dada? Dada?" He whispered desperately.

Belle pressed the redial button and the phone rang once...twice...three times and then…

 _"This is Gold. Leave a message at the tone."_

"DAD," Bae yelled and walked over to Belle and reached for the phone. Belle offered it up to him and he held it in his hands like it was his whole world.

Belle knew that Bae was missing his dad but was the solution really so simple? She watched Bae happily yell into Gold's voicemail before sighing deeply and closing her eyes. Perhaps she could take Bae on a little trip to the Pawn Shop to see his dad. Clearly he was missing him. Truth be told she had thought about that option earlier in the day but she didn't want Gold to think that she could no longer handle watching Bae. If she ran down to the shop every time things were difficult then what would be the point of having a Nanny? Gold could save the money he was paying her and just set up a play area in the back.

Still. If seeing his father, even just for a few moments would give them both some peace then it would be worth it. Belle sighed, feeling a little more calm now that she had a plan of action. If this didn't work then she didn't know what she would do.

Pulling herself off the floor, Belle stretched out her aching muscles.

"Okay Bae, field trip time. Hand me the phone and we'll go for a quick ride over to your Dad's shop. Sound good?" She asked, holding a hand out expectantly.

Bae's eyes narrowed into a scowl that rivaled his father's as he clutched the phone closer to his chest. "NO!" came the exclamation.

Belle was taken aback. Bae could get grumpy with her when it was nap time but this was the first time he'd really been defiant and told her no. Oh, how she had thought it was hilarious just a few days ago watching Bae and Mr. Gold argue back and forth over bath time, Bae vehemently stating his new favorite word with his sweet baby voice. She could certainly understand Gold's frustrations now as it was decidedly less cute when directed to her.

"C'mon, Bae. That's enough," she said and reached for him to take the phone away.

"NO! DAD!" He shouted again as he evaded her grasp and took off full speed down the hall. His father's room was at the end and he burst through the half opened door, hard enough to hit the wall with a loud bang.

"Baelfire Gold!" she called after him hurrying down the hall. She hesitated at the doorway though and gingerly peeked her head in, searching for the boy. She had never seen Mr. Gold's room before and a part of her felt like it was an intrusion of his privacy to be in here at all. Still. She had a legitimate reason for intruding. Slowly she inched into the room taking in her surroundings as she went.

The room was decorated much like the rest of the home with the knick knacks and antiques, but everything seemed to have its place and the room didn't feel cluttered. Her eyes quickly skimmed over the bed and its expensive looking spread, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She could still smell the faint hints of Gold's cologne as she moved around his dresser and peeked into the master bathroom, but there was no sign of the toddler.

Photos of Gold and Bae littered the top of his dresser. Most were of Bae as a newborn but there were a few more recent ones like his first birthday. Gold was positively beaming any time he was featured with his son and Belle could feel her heart swell. She didn't know how anyone in this town could think so poorly of Mr. Gold or be afraid of him. All they had to do was see the way he interacted with Bae to know what kind of man was hiding behind the supposed monster.

A thump came from the corner of the room and Belle redirected her attention to the half open closet door. She heard a faint giggle as she approached and carefully pulled back the closet door, unsure what Bae could have possibly gotten into now.

Sitting in the corner of the closet, Bae wore his first real smile of the day and for a moment it was like nothing had ever been wrong. The phone was still clutched to his chest with one hand but in the other hand was what Belle knew to be one of Gold's favorite shirts, his black and white checkered one, though he would never admit to it. Surrounding Bae though were dozens of other shirts and pants, business and casual alike that he had pulled in a pile all around him.

"Oh, Bae…" she groaned. The finally pressed shirts were beginning to wrinkle and the wrack that had been all but color coordinated with ties hung precariously, most of its silk contents scattered in the rest of the toddler's carnage. Several pairs of shoes that had been neatly paired together were rearranged in a way only a child could manage. She supposed it could have always been worse. At least Bae was covered with mud or chocolate….or worse. Wrinkles and clothes piles and organization, she could handle.

She reached for her cell phone again and Bae shrunk further back into the closet before using all his force to launch the phone into the air as she finally grasped his chubby hand. It hit the closet door with a thunk but luckily her light blue casing had done its job and protected it from any real harm.

"You have really earned your reputation today, little man," she scolded lightly as she put the phone back in her pocket. "Now. Are you going to behave long enough to let me take you to a visit to your Daddy or not?"

* * *

Twenty minutes and many crocodile tears later, Belle finally resigned herself to the fact that they were just going to take the black and white checkered shirt with them, lest Bae's meltdown continue. He held it close in his hands, sniffling in Belle's arms as they made the short journey to Mr. Gold's pawn shop. Belle had of course thought to bring the stroller but the little monster that replaced her sweet charge kicked and climbed his way out twice before it was abundantly clear that this would not work.

When the pawn shop came into sight Belle nearly took off into a sprint, desperate to find out if Gold could save her from this nightmare. Finally she made it across the street after the world's longest procession of cars crept down main street as slow as they possibly could. She threw open the wooden door a little more forceful than was truly necessary, the little bell above the door ringing wildly and startling the occupants inside.

One of her father's friends, Leroy, was inside looking at some sort of item that he nearly dropped in surprise. Belle ignored him and pushed by him, whimpering child in tow.

"Belle? Is everything okay?" Gold asked immediately coming out from around the counter to meet her, no longer worried about making a sale.

"I tried to call you! You said if I needed anything to just reach your cell and you didn't answer!" she spoke with a slightly hysterical edge to her tone, the overwhelming emotions finally taking control once again.

Gold looked slightly confused and mumbled out something about his phone being dead on a charger in the back room. Leroy, glanced at the scene before him and slowly set the merchandise down that he had been browsing and mumbled something about coming back at a better time before quietly slinking out the door.

Belle tried to keep it together and held the whimpering boy out to his father, but despite her best efforts not to look like a blithering fool, she could feel the tears beginning to sting her eyes. Gold took Baelfire from her arms and he instantly stopped his crying, arms wrapping around his father and pulling at his hair. This made Belle's tears fall harder and Gold just stood shocked, not knowing how to react to everything as the perils of the morning began coming out all at once from Belle in a garble of half sentences and desperate pleas. He awkwardly wrapped a hand around her shoulders as she finally stopped speaking and just silently cried.

A few moments passed like this until Belle finally composed herself enough to realize that she was still half enveloped in the embrace of her employer. She mumbled an apology and stepped away but Gold grabbed her hand to stop her and then tilted her chin to look at him. She knew she was a blithering mess but his eyes were kind when she met them and did she sense a bit of laughter hiding behind them? She really had let herself carry on too long.

"So, you finally came face to face with Bae the terror then, eh?" He smiled and wiped a tear from her eye, the intimate gesture filling her stomach with butterflies. He chuckled a little as she nodded and allowed herself a small smile. "Don't take this the wrong way but I am actually really relieved that this happened."

Her confusion was evident and he just smiled wider and shifted Bae on his hip.

"This is going to sound ridiculous but I was insanely jealous at how easy you made it look to take care of him. Here I have been, his father, struggling to keep up and then you came into our lives, and I am so thankful but everything was just perfect. He listened to you, he took his naps, baths, ate his food without ruining your shirts. I was beginning to think that I was just a terrible father, that I was failing my boy…like he didn't need me at all," he trailed off dropping his eyes to the floor.

Belle understood. It had all been pretty easy up to this point hadn't it? She had never really taken stock as to how that may have been affecting _him_ as a parent. She certainly didn't want to take anyone's place but Bae's easy acceptance of her had sure made it seem like she had in Bae's eyes at least.

"Well," she said grasping his hand, "it would seem that he does very much need his daddy. You should have seen how happy he was when he heard your voice on the voicemail. And then he absolutely vehemently refused to leave without that shirt." She pointed to where Bae still held it and Gold looked down having not even realized it was there in the commotion.

Gold laughed. "Yes, it would seem so." He pulled the boy back from his shoulder and examined his red tear stained face. "You've been quite the terror today young man. You're going to make Ms. Belle want to runaway from us. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"DAD!" he yelled in response and laughed as Gold proceeded to tickle his belly.

"Hang on there..." Gold said and stared at the boy a little more closely. "Ahhhhhh. I see what the problem was."

"What? What is it?" Belle leaned in a little to try and see what Gold was talking about worry filling her bones.

Gold tilted Bae's head back a little and used his finger to move his lip. There at the top of Bae's mouth were two little white bumps on either side of his front teeth where more were beginning to come in to join the few he already had.

"Oh my goodness, I didn't even think of that! He wasn't running a fever or anything!" she said and began to feel bad that he may have been in pain this entire time without her knowing.

"It's okay Belle, you didn't know. I almost missed it myself. Was he playing with his hair all day?" She nodded her ascent. He nodded and smiled back. "That's about as much warning as he gave last time he had some teeth come in. A little bit of numbing gel and he ought to be back to his normal endearing self," he teased.

"Oh, Mr Gold I am still so sorry. I'm such a fool…"

He waved her off. "Oh, none of that now. We all have our days. Tell me Belle...has the little man's monster been enough to scare you away from us?"

Belle grinned. "Definitely not. I know the sweet baby that hides behind the little monster Mr. Gold. It'll take more than that to scare me away I'm afraid. Though maybe my ego has certainly been a bit humbled."

"Adam."

"I'm sorry?" Belle asked tilting her head, unsure she heard Gold.

"My name. It's Adam. You've certainly earned that after today." He couldn't help but bring a hand up to stroke her cheek and did he imagine her leaning into his touch?

Belle's smile grew wide and she mumbled, Adam, under her breath, testing how his name rolled off her tongue. He had divulged quite a secret just now. A secret that was well guarded within the walls of this small town was now hers and hers alone. Even after this disastrous day he still trusted her with his son and now another part of himself. Maybe the affection she had begun to feel for him wasn't just limited one way.

"Come on, I'll make us some tea and we can see about getting this little guy off for a nap, huh?"

"That sounds wonderful." She said and followed the boys to the backroom of the shop, feeling the most at ease that she had felt all day.


End file.
